On Being Human by Osman Latiff

As we learn to move and tread lightly through our spaces and foster a better understanding and appreciation of other people, it is important to remain mindful of cultural codes in the contexts we inhabit. Each “landscape” speaks volumes of tradition, art, religion, experiences, histories and celebrations. While ‘landscape’ of any land is made up of the same societal processes, ‘landscaping’ understood as a verb is about the way in which land is transformed by human agency, creating unique spaces upon which sites are located. For each individual, each moment can mean something different in relation to that space. New sites of meaning can emerge at any given time and social meaning too can become contorted in relation to that space.

A very insightful set of verses that enable us to consider navigating through spaces with an alert mind, a heart of understanding, faith, empathy and gratitude is found in Surah al-Naml (27) pertaining to Prophet Sulaymān (upon him be peace):

27:17 - Solomon’s hosts of jinn, men, and birds were marshalled in ordered ranks before him.

The first of the discussed verses describes a battle scene arrangement.

The verse invokes images of might, order, kingdom and strength. To begin, we realise that Prophet Sulaymān is the passive beneficiary of such a marvellous spectacle of power. The Muslim is alerted to creations of space and boundaries, to landscapes and settings. What follows is an arrival into a new space, a different space, but nonetheless worthy:

27:18 - and when they came to the Valley of the Ants, one ant said, ‘Ants! Go into your homes, in case Solomon and his hosts unwittingly crush you.’ Prophet Sulaymān and his army of humans, jinn and birds reach a valley of ants. The transitioning from a site of temporal power, large in scope, into a valley, low in landscape and inhabited by ants, miniature in size, juxtaposes well. We reflect on movements through space, from familiarity to foreignness, from space of ‘here’ into spaces of ‘there’. We are told in the verse that an ant warned the other ants that Prophet Sulaymān’s army was approaching.

They must retreat into their ‘dwellings’ (masākin). The word derives from sakan, from which we get maskan (home) and sakīna (tranquility). It reinforced that the ants, too, in their lowly setting, also have homes, places of belonging and security. They have a place of tranquillity.

They too are also able to take perspective and feel an impending harm on others. The empathy bearing is a salient feature of the appeal. The verse is striking too for what it reveals of the quality of forming a good opinion in that the ant acknowledges that Prophet Sulaymān and his army would be undiscerning of the feared destruction.

Verse 19 is a beautiful verse and contains a supplication profound in meaning and suggestive of a heartfelt sense of humility and gratitude in Prophet Sulaymān:

27:19 - Solomon smiled broadly at her words and said, ‘Lord, inspire me to be thankful for the blessings You have granted me and my parents, and to do good deeds that please You; admit me by Your grace into the ranks of Your righteous servants.’ At the outset we learn that he “smiled, laughing at her speech”. This reflects the good-willed nature of the king-prophet. Finding joy at the small moment of “intermeshing” between ‘worlds’, landscapes, creation, Prophet Sulaymān supplicates. The opening of his prayer, “Lord, inspire me to be thankful for the blessings You have granted me and my parents” is reflective of servitude, a prayer every Muslim should learn. A Muslim’s transitioning through landscapes or in the encountering of others - smaller, perhaps weaker, disenfranchised, poorer – is a reflective moment to express his utmost dependence on Allāh, gratitude and earnestness. It is thus essential that the Muslim’s heart remains ever present in the remembrance of Allāh.

Prophet Sulaymān’s inclusion of his parents in his supplication adds further interest into the breadth of such humility and gratitude. The temporal spaces of ‘here’ and ‘there’ now find an ‘elsewhere’. Prophet Sulaymān’s prayer and focus transcends the earthly and he can find comfort in communing with His Lord. The Muslim, despite what he self-witnesses of success and ability returns his affairs to Allāh. Though he was a Prophet, Prophet Sulaymān felt the need to ask Allāh for guidance to perform those actions which were the most pleasing unto Allāh, not any action with which he might have already been familiar with. Nor did He ask Allāh to enter him into heaven with only other prophets, but instead with “Your righteous slaves”. Furthermore, he asked Allāh to enter him therein not because of his own doings, his obedience, servitude, worship, effort or anything else, but only by “Your Mercy”. Such a transitioning, a moving through space and reflection of self in relation to an Otherness becomes beautifully harmonised when the goal and focus is upon He who exists outside of time and space. It can also enable us to consider a personality as one shaped by parental influences. In this instance, we note that Prophet Sulaymān was the son of Prophet Dāwūd, and father and son are altogether described as awwāb (to always return one’s affairs unto Allāh) in the Qur’ān. On account of the father’s devotion so too did the mountains and birds join Dawūd in remembrance of Allāh. They too are thus described as awwāb . Tendencies of depravity – dehumanisation and othering – as well as tendencies of uprightness, are well informed by parental and social influences.

We exist as attached entities in life, attached by cords of relationships of all kinds. Negative stereotypes about others are sometimes formed from a person’s formative years, and these can become entrenched.